Tag Archives: retail

Post navigation

The purpose of doing a challenge is to stretch our thinking and to initiate lifestyle changes for good purposes. For that reason, I’m not too legalistic with my rules. The idea is to make good and logical choices. I have decided to make a small change in my shopping habits for the remainder of this challenge.

The Shift

I’m adding 100% recyclable packaging to my list of approved things to purchase. Why? Because it’s near impossible to live this way. I could do it, but not with a full-time job and being a full-time single mom. It’s not sustainable. There are parts of it that are sustainable though. This process is all about how to make some simple lifestyle changes that have a positive impact on our lives, the lives of others and our resources. Continue reading →

Rethink shopping. I really am not a huge fan of shopping in most situations. We practice the ‘no impulse buys’ philosophy. If you see something you want, and you remember it 24 hours later, then you can go back and get it. This saves us HUGE amounts of money!

We went to Garden Ridge to look for some planters for the yard, and only because we were in the area. We found nothing of interest to buy, but we sure had fun playing in the store. It’s amazing we didn’t get kicked out.

You might be asking why I would even go into a store since I have no intention of purchasing anything. Sometimes I just need to get out of the house. Other times I just like to see about all the current purchasing hype and expensive fashion trends. We have enough self-control to go into a store and know we’re not going to buy anything, so we go to look around and have some fun. There are so many phone-camera photo ops in retail stores.

It’s the one year anniversary since I finished the no retail shopping challenge. Why did I do the challenge? Straight from my original blog post:

I wanted to live differently, meaning finding creative ways to not buy stuff I really don’t need, to share stuff with others, to not be wasteful and to be more environmentally friendly.

So what did this accomplish? Looking at it one year later, it accomplished a lot more than I could have ever imagined. Since I blogged it every day for the entire year, I have a great record of how the year progressed and all of the lessons I learned through the challenge that many called crazy. Let me share a few of the posts with you.

I’m on day 224 of 365 days in this challenge. Today marks a milestone, not in the days or numbers, but how I feel about this process.

Difficulty. It’s increasingly more difficult to find areas in my house that I haven’t downsized. For some reason, I keep migrating into the kitchen. There’s really not much left in there. I’m getting down to the things I don’t use very often because I’m done with the things I never use anymore.

Difference. It is making a huge difference. I can keep the house picked up. I can find things more easily.

It’s gone. I don’t really have anything that comes to mind that I wish I had kept. Knowing the freedom downsizing has given me, if I need something I got rid of, I look for options to borrow or get a new (in most cases, used) one.

Let me share some scary numbers with you. If this doesn’t make you think twice about how much money we all spend of stuff that we don’t keep, then you should quit your job, because you’re independently wealthy.

$17,973

This is how much it would cost me today to go out and buy all this stuff new at current retail prices. This is about $80 a day. But of course, I didn’t pay that much for it…

$10,504

This is what I paid for all this stuff. I paid 58% of the retail price, but you also have to factor in some of these items were gifts. You do it too, don’t judge me because I’m publicly admitting I have gotten rid of things that were given to me. This equates to about $46 a day that I’m getting rid of.

$16,970

This is how much money I could put in the bank over the course of a year at retail prices. Now let’s be honest here. I didn’t pay full price and I had a couple of pricey items on the list. Here’s the reality number. I took the 3 most expensive items off the list. With those out, I’m looking at $5,304 so far, equating to $24 a day. At this rate of spending on things I don’t need and won’t keep, I could save $8,760 each year. I don’t know about you, but that’s a lot of money in my book!

$385

This is the amount I’ve made from selling my stuff, mind you, I didn’t sell much. I decided to give most of it away and get out of my gridlock of stuff. It takes time and energy to sell stuff and in some cases, I think it’s easier to wipe the slate clean and start from scratch.

$2,111

This is how much the stuff is worth on the secondary or used market. That’s an 88% depreciation. Your stuff isn’t worth squat. Why don’t we think of this when we’re buying it? A few dollars here and a few dollars there doesn’t seem like a lot until you add it up like I did. I would have never guessed these numbers would be so high. At the end of this, I’ll share my spreadsheet with you.

Thanks so much to Frisco Style Magazine for rethinking good in their August 2011 arts issue. No retail shopping for one year has proven to be a great way to rethink no only shopping, but the way we live life. Here’s a few of the blog posts related to the article if you would like more details. Thanks again for rethinking good!

As I said early on in the no retail shopping challenge, I would love to have a pair of TOMS shoes. I love what they’re doing and if I buy a pair of shoes, a child that is in need of shoes gets a pair. The one-for-one model. [day 295] I went to the mall… I know, but let me explain! I went to the mall to go have my phone checked out at the Apple store. I told my son I would take him to the Lego store too.

After going both of those places, wondering how I’m going to lower my blood pressure, I made my way back to Nordstrom’s, where I parked. The ambient noise included crowds of people doing their weekend shopping routine and the louder noises of my son chatting about plastic crap and how Lego pieces are not crap and his friend begging to go to girl stores to clothes shop. Why are these kids with me??!?

We stopped in Nordstrom’s in the shoe department to try on some TOMS. I guess I could have bought them there, and I might have, but they didn’t have the color I wanted in the right size. I decided to go home and buy them online. The shopping experience is just not my happy place.

I bought my ash gray canvas TOMS online. I paid about the same price I would have at Nordstrom’s when you calculate shipping for the online order versus tax that I would have paid retail. I also bought a pair of TOMS boots, or botas, as they call them. These were not an impulse buy, as I’ve been planning on buying boots for months. I’ve been looking at thrift stores but either women don’t have boots or they don’t give them away. Now that I have two pairs of TOMS, I feel like I bought two pairs of blank canvases to paint.

While thinking of what I will paint on my TOMS, I found a pair of beige Sanuk’s at Plato’s Closet for $10. Screaming deal, but I’m allergic to beige. Yes, these are perfect to paint! I can practice my painting techniques and ideas on these. I used fabric paint, fabric dye, old fabric scraps, glue and acrylic paint. I also used a piece of iridescent plastic and some paint pens. So what happened? All of my ideas worked just fine. They’re a bit bright, so my next pair of painted shoes will be toned down a bit, but all in all, they turned out good.

I feel good about all three of these purchases. Why?

Goodwill. Two kids somewhere got a pair of shoes they desperately needed. TOMS are not cheap, but what they’re doing is awesome. I will gladly support a company that helps people in need.

Good deal. the Sanuk’s were a good deal. They retail for $54 and I paid $10. Not my best deal, but still good. Very comfortable shoes!

Good practice. I was glad to have a pair of practice shoes to paint before painting my TOMS. I’ve painted shoes before [day 145] but these would be a little different. $10 is not a bad investment. I had all of the painting and embellishment supplies.

I also thought of a fundraising idea to do with TOMS to help the kids down at Casa Hogar Elim, and the ball is rolling on that. Great stuff! Yes, I feel good about these purchases.

Since the no retail challenge ended over a month ago, I stil haven’t shopped retail very much. Shortly after it ended, I thought I would buy a car charger for my phone and a case to protect my iPad 2. No, I didn’t buy the iPad, I won it. I’ve been carrying it around in a Ziplock baggie and my friends say it looks like an evidence bag.

Off to Best Buy. I had no desire to go in there, but I reluctantly crossed the threshold into the air-conditioned abyss of electronics and accessories. I quickly found the iPad cases, ranging from $39 to $69. I picked them up, touched them, then I set them right back down. I just couldn’t spend that kind of money on a case.

I then found the car charger. $29.99 for the cheapest one. I carried it around for a little while, then put it back. I thought maybe I should get one of those car plug converters that change the car outlet into a standard plug outlet. That was $35. Again, I picked it up, held it for a moment pondering this purchase, then I put it back.

I left the store feeling like I had wasted time. I knew I wouldn’t be able to make those purchases and be okay with them. I ended up using my evidence bag for a couple more weeks until I got my faux leather case for $12.00, including shipping, on eBay. As for the charger, I ended up buying one retail at the Apple store out of necessity. I paid $24.99 for it. I don’t feel great about it and I doubt I will do that again anytime soon.

After a year of no retail shopping, I have really changed. Honestly, I don’t have less stuff than other people and I don’t live much differently than other people, I just go about my shopping process a lot differently. Retail shopping just isn’t my thing. So what if I need something?

Plan. If I plan ahead, I don’t have to buy it right away and I can ‘shop’ around for the best deal.

Need. Do I really need it? The iPad case was a need, as I have two boys that use it. It needed protection. But before I buy something, I like to look for alternatives. The baggie worked nice for a little while, for screen protection anyway.

Think. Had I really thought about it, I would have realized that buying these things at a retail store would cost more than what I was willing to spend. And I would have been right. There’s an hour I’ll never get back.

I’ll retail shop again at some point, but those visits will be few and far between.

I decided not to be the ugly neighbor any longer. I didn’t do much to my yard last summer, so this year, it’s looking a little rough. Should I go shopping? This is going to be weird…

I chose Home Depot because I had a store credit from a return I made over a year ago. The card had $43.00 on it, so I thought that would be a good start to getting the yard stuff I needed. I guess need is the key word here. So how was my first shopping experience after a year of no retail shopping? It’s not what I thought it would be.

What I expected…

I expected to feel strange and out of place. I expected it to be a longer period of time before I went to a retail store. I expected the shopping process itself to be different, although I’m not sure exactly what I expected to be different. One thing would be how I chose to spend my money in a retail store, but beyond that, I’m not sure.

What I experienced…

It did feel strange, not being in a store, but knowing I was there to make a purchase. I went in many stores during the challenge for various reasons, just not spending money there. I had a little guilt mixed with apprehension, and I quickly realized I missed my no retail shopping safety net. There’s nothing keeping me from buying everything and anything I want, well, besides my built-in frugalness and common sense.

It didn’t feel different. I went in there for mulch, fill dirt, plants and a pot to put my happy tree in. (I’ll explain that later) The feelings I had were familiar, a level of stress looking for just the right stuff at the right price, a self-imposed rush because I could be doing better things with my time and a sense of being sucked into the vortex of consumerism again, which I worked so hard to get out of. I know, I know, balance. I’m just saying this is how I felt.

What I bought… and returned.

I did look on craigslist for some of this stuff. Anyone that had plants of fill dirt wanted you to dig it out. I’m not opposed to the work, but I just didn’t feel right doing that. What if I screw something up? I bought all of the things I needed at Home Depot, including 2 big pots. The $69 tage above these is not the right tag for these pots. They were $27, and one was chipped, so I got 20% off. Shape-wise, these are exactly what I wanted. Color-wise, they need a paint job. Great, I just purchased another project to do, one that I don’t have time for.

I needed to go to Lowe’s for the fill dirt. there I found some smaller ceramic pots on a big-time sale. They were on sale because someone stacked them and they were all stuck together and breaking if someone tried to pry them apart. I found one red one and 3 gray ones, perfect for the red yuccas my friends were giving me. I did go dig these up from their yard. After pondering the money I spent on the big pots, I chose to return them. I didn’t need them, and I’m not even sure I wanted them.

I was a little upset with myself that I bought these and had to spend time and gas money to return them. This shopping process is what I really dislike. I went to the store with a purpose. It’s a rare occasion I could ever just go into a store, find exactly what I want for the price I want, buy it and live happily ever after. The process is riddled with anxiety for me. It just shouldn’t be so much work to shop. There are too many choices, too much research needed and then you need money to get the final product you decide on.

After making my returns, I ended up spending about $100, $43 of it from my store credit. My yard looks great, my foundation is more stable after me filling in the bare spot on the corner where the slab was exposed and I was able to rearrange things to find a pot for my happy tree. Yes, it’s a dead tree and the blue color is not an optical illusion. I dyed it blue. It’s an art project that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.

Some of the stuff was cosmetic, some was not. Doing the no retail shopping for a year did postpone some things I should have been doing to maintain my house. The fill dirt should have been done a long time ago. I’m sure there will be some other maintenance items that will creep up over the next few months. I will still be applying my try-to-do-anything-to-avoid-retail-shopping techniques whenever possible, but I won’t rule out retail shopping. I will make it a last resort though.

I decided to take the day off yesterday and spend some time playing. I haven’t been to a thrift store in a while but I needed to find some flip flops for my boys and boots for all of us. Yes, I know it’s summer, but I’m tired of ruining shoes on my urban explorations and them when they go hunting with their dad.

I went to Half Price books to look around while waiting for the nail place to open. What? It’s my once-a-year pedicure. It’s a service. I found this while browsing the store.

Charge Large. A board game that encourages you to borrow money to buy big and build big. Ages 12 and up. First of all, my kids would chew me out for buying something like this, which is good. Second, isn’t this teaching your kids that credit is good? And fun? I can’t believe this even exists. And the people that buy it, do they put it on credit? It would seem a little wrong not to.

So I made it to the nail place, started getting my pedicure when the girl asked me, “Do you want me to do your eyebrows?” I said, “No.” I don’t tweeze my eyebrows and I sure don’t let anyone else do it. I like my eyebrows. She then asked one more time, only this time she said she could fix them. Fix them? I had a flashback of a Mary Kay thing I went to for a friend, with the promise that I didn’t have to put on any makeup. I remember this complicated chart of what my eyebrows are supposed to look like. I’m pretty sure God knew what he was doing when he made my eyebrows. I like them, so I’m not ‘fixing’ them with tweezers, string, lasers or any other crazy methods. If my eyebrows are so hideous that you can’t look at me, just look away. I really don’t get most of this girl stuff, and although I do participate in a small amount of it, it just seems like a lot of work.

Then I went to the thrift store, found the flip flops, had lunch with Elizabeth, then I decided to visit the Henna Salon. I turned really old yesterday, so the henna place was to get a tattoo. A tat that lasts only two weeks is not much of a mid life crisis, but it was something out of the ordinary.

I went inside the Henna Salon, which is typical Frisco, with the addition of an Indian flair. I asked about the tattoos and they were reasonably priced and it didn’t take a long time to do. The girl said I could bring my own design or choose from one in their book. I wasn’t prepared with my own design so I chose one from their photos. I asked the girl if she could add a peace sign to the middle of the one I chose. She said that would be no problem. I sat down and she started working on my henna tattoo. It was difficult to be still but I managed. The tat is on the side of my left leg, so I could see her working, but not the work itself.

After a period of time, she looked up and asked if I would like a large peace sign next to the design. She pointed to the side of it and I said, “Yes, that would be great.” She went back to work and in a minute or so, she pointed to my leg and asked if I liked my peace sign.

I looked down expecting to find a peace sign, but I had a “P” sign. ??!!?!?!?!? Well, something was definitely lost in the translation here! I now have “P” on my leg. Actually there’s two P’s… I wanted to burst out in laughter so I had to rush to get out of there. I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe! Good thing it’s not permanent! So to answer the question most people are asking, no, I didn’t say anything or ask her to fix it. I decided not to get one on my hand, as there’s no telling what that would have had on it. As my friend said, “You wouldn’t want “P” on your hand!”

I plan to go back. I did have someone challenge me on this being a retail purchase. I see it as a service, tinting my skin. I didn’t buy some object that will sit around my house, and no, the henna wasn’t used. I keep laughing every time I look at it though. You just need a sense of humor in life. I think I like the “P” better than the peace sign. My friends are using and emphasizing all “P” words and it’s just a funny story to tell. Some other person might have been angry or asked them to fix it, but I’m personally enjoying it. I will go back there again, but next time with my own artwork. Oh, the possibilities! Peace is a choice. I’ll embrace my “P” for two weeks, and who knows, maybe I’ll ask for another “P” sign.

I was going to wait until the end of the chalenge to do the final financial update, but I thought it was pretty relevant today. Although the financial implications of the no shopping challenge were not a driving factor in starting the challenge, it’s been a nice benefit. The funny part of it is that I haven’t changed my standard of living, I simply changed how I achieve it.

First, let me share the numbers. Please remember from the last update a few months ago that this isn’t the entire picture, it’s just comparing my shopping off my bank statements.

My bank records didn’t go back as far as June so I had to start this one month later than the challenge. By the time all is said and done, it will be around $3,000. That might not seem like a lot for a year, but it doesn’t include other areas of savings by changing my habits, areas like eating, dining, entertainment and and cash transactions. You also have to keep in mind that this is on one salary… a salary that is not anywhere close to the norm for this area. Continue reading →